CHRIS COLEMAN could hand Wales manager Mark Hughes a European Championship boost as he makes his football comeback 14 months after the car crash that almost killed him.

CHRIS COLEMAN could hand Wales manager Mark Hughes a European Championship boost as he makes his football comeback 14 months after the car crash that almost killed him.

The Swansea-born Fulham defender had an amazing escape from death in January 2001 when his #35,000 Jaguar car ploughed through a metal fence and hit a tree near his Surrey home.

Since then the 31-year-old has undergone a series of operations and skin grafts as the accident left him with his right leg broken in three places, a shattered ankle and a badly damaged knee.

But Coleman, who joined Fulham from Blackburn Rovers in 1997 for what was then a club record fee of #2.1m, hopes to make his long-awaited comeback by playing for the Premiership club's reserves next Wednesday.

The 31-times capped defender is unlikely to be risked in first-team action this season as Fulham battle against relegation from the top flight.

But Coleman will have an eye on being fit to return next season, which could provide Hughes with a timely boost ahead of Wales's European Championship qualifying campaign which starts in September with a trip to Finland.

Coleman, who started his career at Swansea City before joining Crystal Palace, told Fulham's official web-site, "It will be fantastic to play again after being out for so long.

"I've just started full-time training - the last three weeks have been like a mini pre-season for me - and I've pencilled in a reserve team game on Wednesday as my first since the accident last year.

"I will probably only play half an hour in that match just to see how things go.

"You can do as much as you want on the training ground, but you need to get games under your belt when you're coming back from a long-term injury."

Returning to first-team action next season and possibly pulling on the Welsh jersey again will represent a considerable achievement for Coleman considering the state he was in 12 months ago.

But the player, whose last appearance for Wales came in a 0-0 draw against Poland in October 2000, vowed never to give up on a return to Premiership action.

"It feels like it has been a very long 14 months," said Coleman. Having the ball at my feet again in training felt a bit alien to me at first, but you soon get the touch back.

"I thought I would be a bit nervous of getting stuck in but it's been OK.

"The more you test your injury and it holds up, the stronger you become mentally."

Coleman will probably have to continue watching from the sidelines as Fulham bid to secure their Premiership status and face Chelsea in a glamorous FA Cup semi-final.

"That's a great draw for us," said Coleman. "But, before we play them, we have some important league games to play.

"Three weeks ago there was a 10-point gap between us and the bottom three, but now it is only five points."